Ablyazov, 50, who had been in hiding since he was sentencedto jail in Britain 18 months ago, was arrested near the Rivieraresort of Cannes in July and has been in custody since.

"We have sent a request to the Ministry of Justice of Franceto extradite this so-called 'businessman' to Russia to be heldcriminally liable for fraud, money laundering and other crimes,"Rossiskaya Gazeta quoted deputy Alexander Zvyagintsev as saying.

Ablyazov has denied the charges which he says werefabricated by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to silencehim as a political opponent. He cannot be extradited toKazakhstan because it is not a member of the Council of Europeextradition convention.

French authorities arrested Ablyazov on a request fromUkraine, and on Aug. 1 he was told he was likely to beextradited there.

He is being held in the Aix-Luynes prison in the south ofFrance and a hearing on his possible extradition to Ukraine isexpected in September.

No one at the Russian Prosecutor General's Office could bereached from comment. Ablyazov's lawyer was not immediatelyavailable for comment.